The first piece was an appetizer. The Beethoven and the Vivaldi are 2 of the most beautiful classical pieces.

The Beethoven is in 5 movements, but the 4th movement leads directly into the 5th.

The Vivaldi consists of 4 concertos — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter — each with 3 movements. The orchestra was drastically reduced to play this piece — only strings. There was no conductor — the orchestra followed the soloist.

The conductor of the first half was Nicolas Ellis, and the violin soloist was Nikki Chooi. Both were very good. Ellis pointed out that the Centre in the Square is known across Canada, in musician circles, as an acoustically amazing theatre.